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Rediff.com  » Sports » I'm comfortable with any captain: Chappell

I'm comfortable with any captain: Chappell

By Onkar Singh in Chandigarh
Last updated on: October 13, 2005 15:35 IST
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India cricket coach Greg Chappell on Thursday steered clear of the issue on who should captain the side for the upcoming home series against Sri Lanka, starting October 25.

"It is not for me to comment on individual players as to who should be selected and who should not be. This is the job of the selectors," Chappell told rediff.com.

Though Chappell did not spell out his role, according to reliable sources in the Board of Control for Cricket in India, he has already indicated his choices with respect to certain players.

He was displeased when asked whether he thinks that the present arrangement of having Rahul Dravid as stand-in captain was good for the Indian team.

"I do not want to get involved in this controversy. As far as I am concerned I would be happy to work with anyone chosen as the captain of the Indian side," he said.

Former Pakistan captain Intikhab Alam, who is currently coaching the Punjab cricket team, minced no words on this matter.

"I think time has come for India to have a full-time captain and not a stand-in captain as an ad-hoc arrangement.

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"This is not a happy trend and I, for one, would support Dravid as the captain of the Indian team because he would be able to captain the side till 2007 World Cup atleast," Alam told this correspondent at the Mohali cricket stadium, where the Challenger Trophy is being played between India Seniors, India 'A' and India 'B' teams.

Selection committee chairman Kiran More and the other four selectors will meet on Thursday afternoon to select captain of the team for the limited-overs series against Sri Lanka.

BCCI secretary S K Nair will also be present at the meeting.

Current captain Sourav Ganguly, who is nursing a minor elbow injury and has asked time till October 17 to prove his fitness, and Dravid are the only two contenders for the job.

Ganguly, who has an impressive record as India's captain, had a verbal spat with coach Chappell last month and the Board had to intervene to bring about peace between the two stalwarts.

Dravid, who became a proud father of a son on Tuesday, on the other hand has conveyed to the Board that he has no inclination to continue as stand-in captain.

Television channels and some leading newspapers have predicted that the injured Ganguly would be dumped to make way for Dravid.

More said the media is free to run such stories.

"As far as we are concerned, we are meeting Thursday evening to decide the captain," he explained.

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Onkar Singh in Chandigarh

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